Figures from Charnwood Borough Council show the market made a £59,400 shortfall last year – due to around £50,000 less in income than expected and around £9,000 extra costs.

The council says its markets team is now putting together a plan to improve marketing.

Loughborough Market has around 150 stalls, which consists of a mixture of regular and temporary traders.

The council says the market usually runs at 92 per cent capacity, but that work on the Inner Relief Road in the town centre and the fact that high winds had caused the cancellation of a number of markets this year, had meant capacity is currently down to 89 per cent.

It says it aims to invite the casual traders to become regulars when the work is finished.

It put the shortfall in rent down to cancelled markets and said the £9,000 overspend came from an electricity and salaries overspend.

In an attempt to recoup these losses, it says it has increased rents by two per cent for 2014/15 and has reduced the original budget for 2014/15 by £28,000.

The amount a trader pays in rent depends on the size of their stall, what day they take it on and where they choose to have it. For example, a 10ft stall on a Saturday would cost anything between £17.73 to £23.58 for the day in Loughborough town centre; on a Thursday, it would cost between £16.10 and £21.43. The cheapest location is Devonshire Square and the most expensive is the centre.

Regular traders pay by direct debit, invoiced on a monthly basis, while casuals pay by cash on the day. If a market has to be cancelled, for example due to high winds as has happened recently, regulars receive a refund.

The majority of the council’s income from the markets comes from rents, with small charges for electricity use and storage.